The Gibson Guitar company has forked over $300,000 to the federal government for the intolerable crime against humanity of failing to fill out forms to import wood from Madagascar for making guitar fret boards.
The United States of America is a bureaucrat’s dream come true. Bureaucrats get paid wages that are far above the value they contribute to society, which is mostly negative. They cannot be fired. They have lifetime employment. Then they retire in comfort — or think they will (ha, ha) — at federal expense. Ah, the good life.
This report should be been titled “Fret for Your Liberties.”
The company had imported ebony wood from Madagascar. This was illegal. Why? Because the company did not fill out forms.
The wood was used for fret boards.
The company will also donate $50,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. This will promote the protection of hardwood trees . . . but not in Madagascar. In return, the government will not press criminal charges.
The company violated something called the Lacey Act. Here is the Justice Department’s press release.
The government raided Gibson in August 2011. Two years earlier, the government sent in armed agents to seize fingerboards. They carried automatic weapons.
[Side note. If government agents need protection against guitar makers, and must carry automatic weapons to defend themselves, why can’t Americans carry automatic weapons to defend themselves against flash mobs? All we can legally carry is semi-automatic weapons.]
I am with the company’s CEO.
“We feel that Gibson was inappropriately targeted, and a matter that could have been addressed with a simple contact by a caring human being representing the Government. Instead, the Government used violent and hostile means with the full force of the U.S. Government and several armed law enforcement agencies costing the taxpayer millions of dollars and putting a job-creating U.S. manufacturer at risk and at a competitive disadvantage. This shows the increasing trend on the part of the Government to criminalize rules and regulations and treat U.S. businesses in the same way drug dealers are treated. This is wrong and it is unfair. I am committed to working hard to correct the inequity that the law allows and ensure there is fairness, due process, and the law is used for its intended purpose of stopping bad guys and stopping the very real deforestation of our planet.”
This kind of thing will end only when the federal government goes bankrupt. Be patient. It’s coming.
Really crummy.
We have set the monster free and it will devour us from the inside if we don't get it back into it's cage. No more bureaucrats making rules that have the force of law. Congress must be made to do their jobs, read their bills, pass succinct concise laws not 3000 page monstrosities and take control away from federal agencies that write their own rules of engagement . It is insane for Congress to give away those law making duties to federal agencies and it must stop.
Seems to me we'll probably lose YET ANOTHER American company!
The federal government has declared war on the American people, makes no difference if it's Dem or GOP.
There was a recent special on Fox New Channel,I believe, about farmers who were fined thousands of dollars by the Feds for depositing legally earned monies in their bank in such a way that they unknowingly violated a banking law meant to catch drug dealers and money launderers. Rather than investigate, find out that no illegality had been either done or intended and educate the farmers on the law (whose intent was I already noted), the farmers ‘settled’ the case–like Gibson–by unnecessarily paying a huge fine.
When this fiasco became public the gov lawyer blamed the farmers for signing the gov. offered ‘deal’ rather than fighting it in court! Big $ costs either way.
why do dumocraps always try to make us prove our innocents this is directly opposed to the constitution!!!!!! like harry reid
Dude, the Republicans aren't any different.
oh, please give me a break………….this puke and it's administration has done nothing but gut the constitution which the sob, promised to up hold, there are 70 commies in our congress today, they are and will over throw this constitutional republic, if the freak is re-elected, they are slobbering and frothing at the mouth.
Thanks for your comments Charles. This is driving me crazy and I'm not directly affected. The best thing I can do at this time is support The Tea Party with donations.
This is proof as to why the government makes doing business in the USA totally unfriendly. I used to think it was the greedy companies wanting cheap labor. I have just gotten into politics since O took office, and now know it is because of government intrusion into everything we do. This was started before O took office, but he has taken it to new heights.
He thinks he and his minions know better than the common people. Also why he would make a statement that you didn't build that business, other people made that happen, like union people. Just think how much cheaper things would be if we didn't have unions dictating outrageous demands.
Actually, I am disgusted with Gibson. They have declared repeatedly that they were NOT guilty, & got all kinds of us demonstrating, & writing emails & letters & signing petitions to stop the mistreatment of their business. And, now they are admitting that they LIED?? Typical of American businesses for the most part. This kind of stuff is just more fuel to allow them to pass even stricter laws against us. Shame on Gibson! And, shame on anybody that buys from them again! IF you aren't guilty, then don't agree to settle, go to court & fight it with every penny you have.
It is nothing less than a shake down by government……$300K is a token amount and was laid down to avoid embarrasing Obione administration….I am also disgusted at Gibson….innocent and you pay a fine. But then there is the difference between honor or expediency….obviously the latter.
We need 300,000 guitar lover to give $1.00 eash.
The attack on Gibson is an attack on all Americans. Waterver their "sins," they were, ultimately, the consequence of intrusive and abusive reach of the federal gangster government under the Obamanation. No way, Romney would have allowed his Justice Department to pursue such an action.
Gibson got screwed by the government, BIG TIME.
That's easy for you to say when you're not putting your money and freedom on the line "If you aren't guilty… go to court & fight with every penny you have". Guess what – the Government has an unlimited pocket book, and CRIMINAL charges were in the offing. Let's turn it around – if YOUR company was accused of breaking a law, and YOU knew it was innocent, but YOU would go to jail personally if the company lost, what would you be advocating? Spending the company's money to settle, I wager!
LISTEN TO:
* TruNews with Rick Wiles (Including the archives).
* The PowerHour with Joyce Riley.
* Politics & Religion with Irvine Baxter.
If the government can do this to Gibson,why can't they jail Obama and Holder for selling guns to Drug lords and causing the deaths of our Border guards and many innocent Mexicians too? It's time to clean Washington out and restock it with with a new crop and put term limits on them too!
No, I would do what I had to do to defend myself. And, last time I checked, God was on MY side, not the government's. If you go to court, & are found guilty, even erroneously, is one thing. But to keep saying, not guilty, not guilty, & then agree to a settlement, people will always assume your guilt.